Foldable dinghy



March 3, 1970 R. A. sci-lou.: 3,497,885A

FOLDAB'LE Dn-IGHY Filed Nov. 7, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOIL /oafk f7. SCHUL L E ATTURNEY March'3, 1970 R. A.scHoLLE 3,497,885

FCLDABLB DINGHY Filed Nov. v, 196e 2 sheetspsneet 2 INVENTOR. l@06h/5l? 45e/70u E ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,497,885 FOLDABLE DINGHY Roger A. Schelle, 8 White Birch Lane, Scarsdale, N.Y. 10585 Filed Nov. 7, r1968, Ser. No. 774,041 Int. Cl. B63b 7/06 U.S. Cl. 9--2 16 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A foldable dinghy comprising a keel member having rigid bottom panels hingedly mounted longitudinally thereof said bottom panels being peripherally joined through flexible sidewall material to a longitudinally hinged gunwale section adapted when folded to rest upon protruding ends of said keel member, each of said bottom panels hingedly supporting brace members at opposed ends thereof intertting with said gunwale section to support the same in spaced relation to said bottom panels and further hingedly supporting intermediate said ends a combination seat brace and side gunwale brace supported in operative position by interlocking engagement with the side gunwale, an elongated seat member adapted to overlie said keel member supported by said seat braces and interlocking engagement with said end braces, said ilexible sidewall material having pleated portions adjacent the hinges of said gunwale section facilitating the folding thereof, and being of such dimensions as to dispose said bottom panels in a predetermined aligned to slight downwardly angled position with respect to said keel member when the sidewall material is fully tensioned by said side gunwale braces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Small boats or dinghys have long been used by boating enthusiasts for movement to and from boats that are moored away from shore. Many larger power boats and sail boats have facilities for taking the dinghy on board while under way but, with smaller craft, this becomes impossible. In such instances, it is the normal practice to tow the dinghy but this is rather unsatisfactory since it interferes with normal headway and can, in rough weather, be dangerous.

To permit taking the dinghy on board smaller craft, there has been considerable use of inflatable boats or dinghies. These however, are not too satisfactory due to the diiculty of inating and deflating them in close quarters and the ease with which air cells may be damaged to destroy their usefulness.

The use of sectional boats has also been tried and one such sectional boat, as disclosed in my U.S. Patent No. 3,349,415, comprises two longitudinally joined sections which, when disassembled, can be stowed in the bunk area of small cabin boats. This, unfortunately, limits the use of the cabin space while under way; and there is a distinct need for a collapsible dinghy that can be as easily assembled and disassembled but which requires less storage space when not in use.

THE INVENTION The foldable dinghy, in accordance with the present invention, is believed to provide the long sought answer to the dinghy problem particularly for owners of smaller sail and power boats. When assembled, it can readily carry up to three persons or one or two persons with considerable gear. Yet, when folded, it becomes a at, light-weight unit which can readily be stowed in the cabin or cockpit of small cabin craft.

Details of the new foldable dinghy will readily be understood from a consideration of the following description taken together with the accompanying drawing in which a preferred adaptation of the invention has been illustrated with the various parts thereof identified by suitable reference characters in each of the views and in which;

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an assembled dinghy with part of the structure broken away to reveal lower details,

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal view of the dinghy shown in FIG. 1 taken substantially on the broken line 2-2 of FIG. l,

FIG. 3 is a transverse view substantially on the broken line 3 3 of FIG. l,

FIG. 4 is an end view of the dinghy in collapsed position,

FIG. 5 is a side view of the dinghy in collapsed position,

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view substantially on the line 7-7 of FIG. 3,

FIGS. 6 and 6a are enlarged detail views substantially on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2, FIG. 6 showing the parts in temporary position and FIG. 6a showing the parts in finally assembled position,

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view substantially on the line 8-8 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view substantially on the line of 9-9 of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIGS. l to 3 of the drawing, the dinghy 10 comprises a keel 11 supporting through hinges 12 rigid bottom panels 13 of semielliptical contour which are joined along peripheral edges 14 thereof through ilexible side walls 15 to a gunwale 16 comprising two similar units longitudinally foldable through hinges 17.

Each of the bottom panels 13 is provided at opposed ends thereof with end braces 18 having cut out upper ends providing protruding portions 19 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 which intert with recesses 20 in the gun-wales. The braces 18 are hingedly mounted on the bottom panels 13 to permit collapsing to the dotted line position as shown at 18 in FIG. 1. When interlocked with the gunwales 16, the braces 18 support the ends of the gunwale unit in spaced relation to the keel 11 and bottom panels 13 exerting tension on the side walls 15 as clearly indicated in FIG. 2 of the drawing.

Each of the bottom panels 13 also hingedly supports intermediate the ends thereof, a brace unit 21 extending substantially perpendicularly to the keel 11 and having adjacent the keel 11 an upwardly extending seat brace 22 and remote from the keel 11 a pivotally mounted side gunwale brace 23. The unit 21 and portions 22 and 23 thereof can "be collapsed against the supporting bottom panels 13 as shown on dotted lines in FIG. 1 of the drawing. When raised to the elevated position, a notch 24 at the upper end of the side gunwale brace 23 bears against the under surface of the side gunwale to tension the sidewall material 15 as seen in FIG. 3 of the drawing. To prevent accidental displacement, the brace 23 preferably engages a detent 25 in a cam member 26 secured to the under surface of the gunwale 16 as shown in FIG. 7 of the drawing.

Upper ends of the seat supports 22 are notched as seen at 22 to receive side edges of an elongated seat 27 which is of a length to snugly bear against the end braces 18. In order to prevent accidental displacement of the seat 27, protruding means are provided at opposed sides of each end portion of the seat for engagement with suitably positioned apertures 29 in the end braces 18, said protruding means on at least one end of said seat member being slide bolts 28. When the dinghy is completely assembled and the slide bolts 28 engaged with the end braces 18 as above described, the assemblage is sufficiently rigid to permit lifting and carrying by the seat 27.

The length of the bottom panels 13 should be slightly less than the inside dimension of the gunwale section 16 as clearly shown in FIG. l of the drawing and the keel 11 should have ends 30 protruding slightly beyond the bottom panels 13. This provides an effective point for towing or mooring the dinghy. More important, however, the protruding keel ends 30 provide an effective support for the hinged portion 1-6 of the gunwale section when in the folded position as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In this connection, it should be noted that the keel 11 is of a width to support the bottom panels 13 slightly outwardly of the folded portion 16 of the gunwale unit to allow space for the flexible sidewall material to be folded between the parts in the collapsed position. In order to facilitate folding to the position shown in FIG. 5, the sidewall material adjacent the hinges 17 is provided with a deep tuck 31 as clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawing extending almost half the distance from the keel to the gunwale. This tuck which is substantially unnoticed in theassembled position provides the elongation necessary to accommodate the separating movement of the lower surfaces of the gunwales 16 as they are folded at the hinges 17.

As an aid to assembling the dinghy by one person unassisted, the end braces 18 are provided with outwardly extending hook 'brace 32 as clearly shown in FIGS. 6 and 6a of the drawing, disposed slightly below the protruding ends 19. The hook end 32 can be temporarily engaged with loops or eyelets 33 in the inner gunwale edges to support the assemblage in partially extended position, engagement of one hook at each end of the dinghy being sufficient for this purpose. The single operator can then easily exert the necessary force to tension the sidewall material and bring the end braces 18 into interlocking engagement with the gunwale 16 as shown in FIG. 6a of the drawing.

The dimension of the sidewall material 15 and the side braces 23 control the orientation of the bottom panels `13 in the assembled dinghy. The bottom panels 13 may be in common alignment providing an essentially flat-bottom dinghy, or the bottom panels may be angled downwardly from the keel as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. This has the advantage of providing both added stability and added storage and carrying space to the dinghy.

As materials for the side walls 15, various flexible water impervious sheet materials can be employed including sheet rubber or plastic, or rubber or plastic coated fabric. Fibre glass fabric and fabrics of synthetic plastic materials such as polyethylene or polypropylene coated on both sides with flexible plastic material are particularly effective from the standpoint of both strength and durability. Furthermore, such coated fabrics can be easily bonded to other structural components of the dinghy.

The gunwales 16 can be fashioned from various materials such as wood, formed metal, or plastic. From the standpoint of minimizing weight, an effective form of construction, as illustrated in FIG. 7 of the drawing, involves outer layers 34, 34 of rigid material bonded to a filler of plastic foam 35. The plastic foam can be formed in place, or preformed and bonded to the outer layers 34, 34. The outer layers 34 can be formed, for example, 3f Mz" marine plywood or other materials of comparable strength and rigidity.

The bottom panels can also be fashioned from various materials including Wood, formed metal, or plastics and :an be of unitary structure having suitable strength and rigidity or a built up structure involving a plurality of ;uperimposed components. A practical form of construczion, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 of the drawing, involves Lhe use of inner and outer rigid panels 36, 36 bonded :ogether with portions of the side wall material 1S dis- )osed therebetween. The outer panel 36 preferably exiends beyond the engaged sidewall material 15 as seen tt 13' in FIG. 8, as a means for protecting the sidewall naterial from direct contact with sharp and abrasive unlerwater objects. If desired, the material 15 can extend over the full area of the bottom panels 13 and to the keel 11. As is well known in the resin bonding art, portions of basket woven fabrics can be overlapped and/or stretched when bonding them together in conforming the material to particular shapes and contours. For example, the sidewall material 15 can readily be formed around and bonded to the upper surface of the gunwale 16.

FIG. 9 illustrates one form of providing a flexible seal at the keel portion wherein the flexible waterproof sheeting 15 which, as above described, may be joined to the sidewall material 15, is loosely looped between the hinges 12 to allow for movement from the folded position, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, to the operative position shown in FIG. 3, with the bottom panels 13 in the downwardly deflected position.

To protect and position the looped portion 15', a supplemental keel strip 11 is preferably secured centrally thereof and to the keel 11. This has the advantage also of providing added longitudinal rigidity to the keel. As an optional additive for protecting the looped sealing material 15, a supplemental sheet of flexible, water impervious material 37 can loosely overlie edges of the panels 13 and the supplemental keel strip 11, with the edges overlying the panels 13 suitably being protected by molding strips 38. If the flexible insert 37 is properly bonded to the panels 13, it constitutes a supplemental waterproofing means along the juncture of the keel 11 and the bottom panels 13.

When using the built-up structure shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 for the bottom panels 13, a practical means for mounting the end braces 18 is to employ flexible hinges, suitably resin coated fabric bonded to the panels 13 as indicated at 39 in FIG. 1 of the drawing. Similarly, the brace units 21 can be secured to the bottom panels 13 by resin coated fabric hinges as indicated at 40. It should be noted in this connection that the units 21 are preferably slightly offset with respect to each other to facilitate storage in the collapsed position. It should also be understood that in adapting the invention to boats or dinghys of larger size, it might be desirable to have a plurality of brace units 21 at each side of the keel 11.

The gunwales 16 are suitably provided with flat mountings 41 for removable oarlocks 42, and the mountings 41 are preferably slightly staggered to prevent direct Contact therebetween when the dinghy is folded in the manner shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The seat member 27 which, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is slightly shorter than the inner dimension of the gunwales 16, can be rested on the keel when folding the dinghy as indicated in FIG. 5 without interfering with folding of either bottom panels 13 of the gunwales 16. Edges of the bottom panels 13 are suitably provided with eyelets or other anchoring means 43 for detachably mounting a carrying means suitably in the form of flexible straps 44 and rigid handles 45. As thus folded and suspended by the handles 45, it will be noted that the assemblage provides convenient space for storing and carrying oars 46.

The entire assemblage, when constructed of materials of the type described and in a size having measurements at the gunwales of about 62 x 4', weighs less than 40 lbs., and occupies a space only 6'2" x 21 x 4 to 5". It will be apparent that an object of this size and weight is convenient for storage and handling even on relatively small cabin craft. It is sufficiently compact when folded to be stored under a bunk mattress. Furthermore, the simple and self-contained construction of the device enables it to be erected or collapsed single handedly and without the use of any tools in a matter of 2 or 3 minutes. Thus, even if stowed away, the dinghy can very quickly be made available in case of emergency.

Various changes and modifications in the foldable dinghy as herein described may occur to those skilled in the art and to the extent that such changes and modifications are embraced by the appended claims, it is to be understood that they constitute part of the present invention.

lI claim:

1. A foldable dinghy comprising a keel member having rigid bottom panels hingedly mounted longitudinally thereof said bottom panels being peripherally joined through flexible sidewall material to a longitudinally hinged gunwale section adapted when folded to rest upon protruding ends of said keel member, each of said bottom panels hingedly supporting brace members at opposed ends thereof interftting with said gunwale section to support the same in spaced relation to said bottom panels and further hingedly supporting intermediate said ends a combination seat brace and side gunwale brace supported in operative position by interlocking engagement with the side gunwale, an elongated seat member adapted to overlie said keel member supported by said seat braces and interlocking engagement with said end braces, and said flexible sidewall material having pleated portions adjacent the hinges of said gunwale section facilitating the folding thereof.

2. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 1, wherein the intertting engagement between said end braces and gunwale involves bearing engagement of the upper brace end with the under surface of the gunwale and interfitting of a protruding portion of the brace in a recess in the inner edge of the gunwale.

3. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 2, wherein each end brace includes a laterally projecting and upwardly oriented prong disposed below the upper bearing surface thereof adapted for engagement with an eyelet at the inner edge of said gunwale for the temporary support of the dinghy in partially erected position.

4. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 1, wherein said combination seat brace and side gunwale brace comprises an integral bottom engaging portion and upstanding seat brace having a notched upper end for engaging under and side surfaces of a seat, and the side gunwale brace being pivoted to said unitary member for swinging movement in the plane thereof and having a notched upper end for engaging under and side surfaces of said gunwale.

5. A flexible dinghy as defined in claim 4, wherein the upper end of said side gunwale brace interfits with a cam element on the under surface of the gunwale having detent means for locking said side gunwale brace in upright position.

6. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 1, wherein said elongated seat member is slightly shorter than the inner longitudinal dimension of the gunwale section whereby said seat member, in the collapsed position of said dinghy, can rest upon said keel between the folded portions of said gunwale section.

7. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 1, wherein the interlocking engagement between said seat member and end braces comprises protruding portions at edges of said seat member interfitting with apertures in said end braces, said protruding portions at at least one end of the seat member being adjustable longitudinally of said seat member.

8. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 1, wherein said gunwale section is a built-up construction comprising upper and lower thin layers of rigid material bonded to a substantially thicker ller of foamed resinous material.

9. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 1, wherein said bottom panels are of built-up construction comprising two layers of thin rigid material bonded together with said flexible sidewall material extending therebetween.

10. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 1, wherein hinge mounting of said bottom panels on said keel comprises hinge members externally mounted on the undersurface of said bottom panels and side edges of said keel, and at least one strip of flexible water impervious material overlying said keel and bonded to said bottom panels with longitudinal loops in said flexible material facilitating free swinging movement of said bottom panels from essentially parallel orientation in the folded position of said dinghy to a substantially aligned to downwardly angled position with respect to said keel in the assembled position of said dinghy.

11. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 10, wherein said bottom panels are of built-up construction comprising two thin rigid members bonded together and said flexible waterproof material is disposed between and bonded to said members.

12. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 10, wherein the loop portion of said flexible waterproof material is positioned longitudinally of said keel by a narrower supplemental keel member secured to said keel through said flexible material.

13. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 12, wherein a second strip of flexible waterproof material is bonded to upper surfaces of said bottom panels adjacent said keel and loosely overlies said supplemental keel member. 14. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 1, wherein the gunwale section, when extended in the assembled dinghy, provides a generally rectangular contour with rounded corners providing a relatively wide surface between inner and outer edges thereof, the bottom panels are of semielliptical contour and slightly smaller than the inner dimensions of said gunwale section, and the flexible sidewall material in the fully extended position of the dinghy provides smoothly curved contours from the outer periphery of said gunwale section to the outer periphery of said bottom panels.

1S. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 14 wherein the bottom panels are of built-up construction comprising two layers of rigid material bonded together with said flexible sidewall material extending therebetween, and the periphery of the lower layers of rigid material extending beyond the juncture of said sidewall material and panels to protect said juncture from abrasive underwater objects.

16. A foldable dinghy as defined in claim 1, wherein the flexible sidewall material and side gunwale braces are so dimensioned as to dispose said bottom panels at slight downwardly angled positions with respect to said keel member when the sidewall material is fully tensioned by said side gunwale braces.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,359,806 11/ 1920 Holmstrom 9--2 3,071,785 1/1963 Holt 9 2 TRYGVE M. BLIX, Primary Examiner 

